Not so long after revealing its $199 Chromebook featuring an Intel Celeron processor from the Haswell family and a 16 GB SSD Acer delivers another excellent Chrome OS-based portable for budget conscious users, but this time with a touchscreen and a larger SSD. "The Acer C720 Chromebook line has been praised for its performance and battery life, and this new touchscreen model allows us to address the needs of an even wider range of customers with exciting new capabilities." says Arif Maskatia, CTO for Acer.

The C720P Touch Chromebook weighs only 2.98 pounds and provides the following specs and features:

According to Acer's press release, the C720P Touch Chromebook can boot in only 7 seconds and resume from sleep "quick" but without mentioning any details about actual performance in this case.

The new Acer C720 Touch will only be available in Granite Gray and has been already listed on Amazon for $299.99 with free shipping, thus providing best value in its class (Google's Chromebook Pixel starts at $1,299, for example). According to Acer, it will arrive "in early December" on Amazon, Best Buy and the Acer Store.

Acer Introduces Industry’s First $299 Touchscreen Chromebook

Acer’s first touchscreen Chromebook – the Acer C720P – provides a natural way to enjoy all the benefits of Chrome

Available in early December at Amazon.com, Best Buy and the Acer Store at only $299.99

Great multi-tasking performance and up to 7.5 hours of battery life with fast Intel processor

Boots up in only 7 seconds with fast 32GB SSD

Acer America today announced the availability of its first touchscreen Chromebook, the new Acer C720P, a new model in the Acer C720 Chromebook line that was introduced last month. The new C720P provides the many benefits of touch on the device’s 11.6-inch HD LED back-lit display to take advantage of the Chrome interface.

“Our new touchscreen C720P gives customers an intuitive way to browse sites online, enjoy apps, and do more with the Chromebook,” said Arif Maskatia, CTO for Acer. “The Acer C720 Chromebook line has been praised for its performance and battery life, and this new touchscreen model allows us to address the needs of an even wider range of customers with exciting new capabilities. We’re certain many holiday shoppers will jump at the chance to get a touchscreen Chromebook for just $299.99.”

The Acer C720P’s touch capabilities are enjoyed on its vibrant 11.6-inch ComfyView™ HD display that has a 1366x768 resolution to keep websites, images and video crisp and clear. The multi-touch display allows customers to use gestures such as swipe, tap and pinch to zoom to interact in a natural way with the Chromebook so they can better enjoy educational apps, browse websites, scroll through Google Docs, play games and more.

Like the rest of the new C720 line, the new C720P touchscreen model is powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U processor based on the Intel Haswell micro-architecture, so it delivers fast performance and excellent multi-tasking such as running multiple tabs and apps. The processor also enhances battery life; it keeps customers going for up to 7.5 hours for extra productivity and fun.(1)

The C720P gets customers working and connecting quickly with its 32GB SSD that provides a fast boot time of less than 7 seconds and quick resuming from sleep.(2) The large SSD also provides ample storage capacity for saving video, photos and other files. In addition, the touchscreen C720P features 2GB of DDR3 memory.(2) Plus, the Acer C720 quickly connects to hotspots and wireless networks via 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi.

Thin and Lightweight Design Includes all the ExtrasThe Acer C720P Chromebook measures only 0.78-inches and weighs only 2.98 pounds, making it easy to carry to meetings, classes, and anywhere life takes today’s busy consumers. The C720P’s compact chassis houses everything needed to stay productive, connected and entertained on the go. It features an integrated HD webcam for video chats as well as capturing video and photos to share online. The new Chromebook features a dual speaker design that delivers crisp and clear stereo audio during online chats as well as for enjoying music and movies. Connecting to popular external storage, including digital cameras and smartphones, is easy and convenient with the Chromebook’s USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. Its HDMI port can be used to provide video and content to external displays and HDTVs.

Security for Multiple Users, CollaborationCustomers will appreciate that the Chrome OS is updated automatically, so it always has the latest features. Multiple layers of security features including data encryption and verified boot defend the Acer C720P Chromebook against online threats, malware and viruses. The Acer C720P Chromebook keeps data safe when the device is used by multiple users, such as for collaboration in the classroom and for projects for home, school or work. Users can have separate accounts to ensure their project, Gmail and other information is kept safe if the Chromebook is lost, stolen, or lent to a friend.

Chromebooks Are Ready to Work and PlayAcer Chromebook customers are provided several extras to make use of their new C720P touchscreen Chromebook right out of the box. They can access up to 100GB of free Google Drive storage for the first two years after purchase, so files, documents, photos and more are stored safely in the cloud.(3) Also, the new Acer C720P model comes with 12 free Gogo Inflight passes to allow customers to stay online even while on a flight.(4) Acer Chromebooks are easy to start enjoying, as they come with popular Google products built in including Search, Gmail, YouTube, and Hangouts.

Pricing, Availability and WarrantyThe Acer C720P will be available for in several configurations in early December at Amazon.com, Best Buy and the Acer Store for a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $299.99 in the United States. The new Acer C720P comes with a standard one-year parts and labor warranty, which can be extended to three years with the Acer Advantage service. All Acer Chromebooks are backed by toll-free service and support.(5)